I have a low power NAS (~35W) and I want to buy an UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to keep things running. The problem is most UPS for well known brands have an idle power usage (even without load) greater than 20W. It’s comprable with the NAS + HDDs + Network equipment…
Do you know any alternative? UPS battery for 10 minutes will be enough. UPS load could be very low < 50 W. UPS software is optional.
For such a small load, you may consider those surge protectors/power stripes with battery backup, e.g. APC Back-UPS 600VA. Or you can take a more DIY route and try those DC UPS circuits if your low-power NAS supports direct DC input, i.e. it has a barrel jack for power.
As far as I know the idle power varies from implementations to implementations, especially regarding charging. Also the idle power tends to grow when the battery ages (as the internal resistance increases).
If you are interested in the APC one, it does not hurt shooting them an email asking for the rated idle power usage. From my experience, APC has been pretty eager to respond.
Indeed they are 😂. It is especially true with the newer gen products. A few years ago these “power stripes with battery backup” had much smaller capacity and fewer capability.
A UPS will have a load. It’s got to keep the battery healthy.
They are intended to keep a more vital system up. Generally a NAS is the backup target. And you’d keep the computer is it the target for on the UPS. Maybe the NAS too.
You can probably get away with a desktop UPS. But the power draw is always going to be a factor. The NAS is designed to stay on all the time. So is low power draw.
I will have a power load of 35W 24/7 for years. I’m using the unloaded power consumption as a proxy to measure the UPS consumption/efficiency.
In my case a total power consumption (UPS + 35W load) of 40W will be acceptable, 55W won’t.
The UPS has to cycle the battery for its health. This takes power. The 20W will be the recharge.
There is nothing you can do about that. If you DIY your own, without putting battery healthcare. It will fail when you actually need it. And sometimes catastrophically.
I understand. There are Anker power banks for laptops with 65w. They should be more efficient but I don’t have data about the long term use. I guess the battery will last less than the UPS batteries.
Those will not be UPSs they will be power banks. Most Powerbanks are lithium. Lithium requires careful monitoring if it is constantly float charged. And they fail catastrophically when over charged.
Custom build. Intel Nuc i5 + USB 3.0 external Raid 5 case with 3 HDD + Router/Switch. The Intel nuc is really power efficient ~10w. It’s comparable with RPi 4 ~5w but 3 or 4 times more performance with hardware video decoding.
Interesting I kept reading USB enclosures like that aren’t a reliable setup, at least specifically with unRAID. I’ve been saving up for a Synology NAS as my “low power” storage for my mini pc cluster.
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For such a small load, you may consider those surge protectors/power stripes with battery backup, e.g. APC Back-UPS 600VA. Or you can take a more DIY route and try those DC UPS circuits if your low-power NAS supports direct DC input, i.e. it has a barrel jack for power.
Thank you for the link but I can’t see the unloaded power consumption in the specifications.
I read about different UPS topologies and the model you suggested is “standby”, the most power efficient => https://unifiedpowerusa.com/ups-topology-optimal-environment/
But some users report the “Cyberpower ValueUPS 600” (similar model) consumes - idle with nothing connected - 20W exactly
As far as I know the idle power varies from implementations to implementations, especially regarding charging. Also the idle power tends to grow when the battery ages (as the internal resistance increases).
If you are interested in the APC one, it does not hurt shooting them an email asking for the rated idle power usage. From my experience, APC has been pretty eager to respond.
isn’t that an UPS but in a different shape?
Indeed they are 😂. It is especially true with the newer gen products. A few years ago these “power stripes with battery backup” had much smaller capacity and fewer capability.
A UPS will have a load. It’s got to keep the battery healthy.
They are intended to keep a more vital system up. Generally a NAS is the backup target. And you’d keep the computer is it the target for on the UPS. Maybe the NAS too.
You can probably get away with a desktop UPS. But the power draw is always going to be a factor. The NAS is designed to stay on all the time. So is low power draw.
I will have a power load of 35W 24/7 for years. I’m using the unloaded power consumption as a proxy to measure the UPS consumption/efficiency. In my case a total power consumption (UPS + 35W load) of 40W will be acceptable, 55W won’t.
The UPS has to cycle the battery for its health. This takes power. The 20W will be the recharge.
There is nothing you can do about that. If you DIY your own, without putting battery healthcare. It will fail when you actually need it. And sometimes catastrophically.
I understand. There are Anker power banks for laptops with 65w. They should be more efficient but I don’t have data about the long term use. I guess the battery will last less than the UPS batteries.
Those will not be UPSs they will be power banks. Most Powerbanks are lithium. Lithium requires careful monitoring if it is constantly float charged. And they fail catastrophically when over charged.
Slightly off topic but what is your lower power NAS?
Custom build. Intel Nuc i5 + USB 3.0 external Raid 5 case with 3 HDD + Router/Switch. The Intel nuc is really power efficient ~10w. It’s comparable with RPi 4 ~5w but 3 or 4 times more performance with hardware video decoding.
Interesting I kept reading USB enclosures like that aren’t a reliable setup, at least specifically with unRAID. I’ve been saving up for a Synology NAS as my “low power” storage for my mini pc cluster.
I read that too but I had 2 external cases (fatenc and yottamaster) for more than 7 years and 0 problems.
There’s the EATON 3SM36 UPS which does 36W on DC, but that is too close to your load. I’d have loved to use it as well, but it’s just too light.
The output is DC 9V/3A - 12V/3A - 15V/2,4A - 19V/1,89A. I will need extra adapters for other voltages like 5V.
It would be a neat option if they have armed it with a larger battery. Even those dirt cheap portable battery packs come with 10Ah nowadays…
I guess it’s enough to shit everything down safely. But with just 36W it’s not really fit for anything but wifi routers and a Pi.
Edit: Well, I just gotta leave it now I guess😂
Spelling is important!
Do you shit upwards?
No, downwards, but very dangerously.
Runnin’ a homelab on a Crapberry Pi!